Food Science Club
Even if you have never been a joiner, you will want to join the Food Science Club.
Why join? Because the art of interacting with your fellow students, just as you will interact with your business colleagues after graduation, is one of the most important benefits of participating as a club member.
You will be engaged in all sorts of interesting and profitable activities like production of delicious olallieberry jam, which flies off the shelves of our Campus Market and from our club's sales events. You will be involved in University and College of Agriculture public happenings like Homecoming and Open House. And, if that isn't enough, the club officers (which you will want to become in your junior or senior year) plan social gatherings, including the end-of-the-year banquet.
In other words, the actions of the club are an integral part of your experience as a Food Science major and provide for development of all the talents and skills needed to be a leader in your chosen job once you leave Cal Poly. And, your resume will look well-rounded as your club experiences serve to enhance your marketability.
Don't wait beyond your first quarter to take advantage of all the club has to offer!
Teams
Student alert! You have the chance to become a national winner! Our Product Development Team has been in the national finals over and over again! Our Nutrition College Bowl Team has participated in the competition since its inception a few years ago! We enjoy the success of our students in their creative and academic challenges. You can find a way to shine with your knowledge and to boast of your creative genius in one or more of our competitions.
Food Product Development Team
Members of this team plan and produce a demonstration food product incorporating considerations of composition, analysis, packaging, marketing strategies, and solutions to a myriad of production and presentation obstacles. In past years, our team as gone to the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting for competition with teams from all over the nation.
Join this endeavor and learn the practical side of product development while beating the competition and gaining recognition for yourself and Cal Poly.
Nutrition College Bowl Team
Nutrition majors love to learn all the details of human and clinical nutrition. Why not compete with teams from other California nutrition departments to see who has learned the most? It takes a special commitment to "run your brain" during the competition held each spring at the California Dietetic Association annual meeting.
Team members answer questions about every element of nutrition such as nutrient functions, food composition, human nutrient requirements, and so much more. Even the smartest of you will be challenged to come up with the right answer in the fastest time in front of an audience. What a great way to prepare for the real world and be a star here at Cal Poly, too.
Intercollegiate Food Science and Technology College Bowl Competition
Food Science students sharpen your pencils! This team takes your learning to a new height with its local, regional, and national competitions. Answer all of those tricky questions posed by food science professionals in front of the audience of IFT members! You will have a great time with your faculty advisor, who will be urging you to think of answers as fast as you can. What a way to show the world how much you have learned. Consider joining this team and finding out how great you can be.
Internships, Work, and Volunteer Opportunities
The Food Science and Nutrition Department continually seeks new and exciting real-world experiences for our students. Can the learn-by-doing philosophy be carried out any other way? We don't think so. Faculty in the department constantly meet and greet potential business leaders in order to elicit their interest in accepting our students as interns (with course unit credit applicable), as employees (students work and are paid an appropriate salary), and as volunteers (students gain experience without unit credit or pay).
When students go forth to work in large corporate facilities like Dole, Frito-Lay, Gallo, or many other large companies, they acquire a vibrant and exciting insight into what it takes to successfully work in such environments. Some of our students have gone to very small operations where one quarter of work experience has exposed them to an infinite number of jobs within an industry. Faculty and students alike are amazed by the variety of applications each internship or work experience provides.
"What a great quarter I had at _________!" or "Wow! I worked right beside a guy who knew everyone in and everything about the __________ business!" or "I never thought I would get to do so much during my internship with__________!" All of these remarks reflect the high degree of satisfaction students find by getting out into the larger world of food science or nutrition.
Often an internship or work experience between junior and senior year leads to a very important and applicable senior project idea. A student may encounter a specific problem needing attention while working in the field, and when senior project time rolls around, a great idea leads to a great project. We have even prepared students to return to their internship location armed with answers to a key question facing the company.
Our best students often receive job offers from the company at which they served as an employee, intern, or volunteer. After all, wouldn't an employer want to hire someone who has already learned their position's needs and skills? And, because our faculty follows the progress and results of student work activities, we know how well students perform.
So don't hesitate to communicate your interest in getting out there and trying on an industry job for fit and career delineation. We will match you to something you can enjoy and, more importantly, from which you can learn about the world around you.